DON'T SPRAY THE POPPIES

Re "Afghans Pressed by U.S. on Plan to Spray Poppies" (front page,
Oct. 8):

The American-led counternarcotics policy of forced poppy crop
eradication in Afghanistan has been pivotal in hindering stability,
security and development in the country's most impoverished regions.
Starting a more aggressive approach like chemical spraying would be
nothing short of disastrous.

Chemical spraying was undertaken in Colombia and proved ineffective.
Not only did aerial spraying merely displace illegal coca cultivation
to more remote areas, it also led to starvation and displacement of
entire farming communities while posing severe health risks to both
humans and the environment.

With southern Afghanistan already suffering from a severe starvation
crisis, aerial spraying would be catastrophic for the rural community
while turning the local population against NATO troops. It would
trigger more political hostility against the NATO presence and the
Karzai government in a country where the battle for hearts and minds
is already suffering tremendously from our past errors.

President Hamid Karzai has declared his opposition to any forms of
spraying. The international community has a duty to respect his wishes.

We need to win back hearts and minds to succeed in Afghanistan, not
destroy any trust that may remain.

Norine MacDonald

Paris